Game On: Thunder @ Hornets

Matchup: Hornets(14-7) @ Thunder(15-8)

First off, you asked and we (finally) delivered. The first Hornets247 watch party of the year is on for Monday, December 13th against the Miami Heat. The game is at 6:30 CT, and will be shown at Extreme Sports Bar and Grille on 535 Tchoupitoulas St. I know this is rather short notice, but it’s going to be a rocking party and you should definitely come. Free Beer, prizes (including tickets), friends, and good times. Also, check out the Save Our Hornets Foundation.

The Hornets will be looking to avenge an earlier loss this season to the Thunder when the teams play tonight at 7:00 ct.

New Orleans will need to attack the basket, which they failed at doing last time. They are a jump shooting team, but in a game against the Thunder it’s essential that they pound the rock inside. David West is the best big man on the floor and will need to have a big game if the Hornets are to prevail. Let’s just hope that if Scott Brooks switches Durant on him, West won’t shoot on 5/6 possessions late in the fourth quarter. That didn’t work out so well last time.

Injuries:

Hornets:
Thunder:

Positional Analysis (From Ryan’s Earlier Preview)

PG: Russell Westbrook v Chris PaulAdvantage: Hornets
Among all the young point guards in the league like Rose and Well, it is Westbrook who is the most impressive.Â He draws 9 free throws a game as he attacks from the perimeter, which is a huge number for any NBA player, much less a point guard.Â This allows him to score at a highly efficient rate despite poor shooting ability.Â Scoring, however, is not his best attribute any longer, as it had been in the past.Â He has cut his turnovers while upping his assists, and now posts a respectable assist to turnover rate.Â He rebounds well.Â He can be a lock-down defender.Â This should be a fantastic battle tonight, because itâ€™s not a huge edge in favor of CP3.

SG: Thabo Sefolosha v Marco BelinelliAdvantage: Hornets
Thabo plays good defense, and finishes enough layups in transition to make him useful, while contributing to the boardwork.Â Still, heâ€™s a guy you can cheat off of regularly defensively and not be stung by it.Â Marco may have trouble getting easy open shots, but he should still be more effective than Thabo.

SF: Kevin Durant v Trevor ArizaAdvantage: Thunder
Durant is having a poor shooting season so far.Â It doesnâ€™t matter.Â He still draws lots of free throws and knocks them down, keeping his scoring at an efficient level.Â Heâ€™s also been a bit one-dimensional, serving up few assists and rebounds this season, but heâ€™s a threat to be worried about.Â Ariza will have his hands full and might see long minutes if he can avoid foul trouble.Â I cringe to think about who might be guarding Durant when/if Ariza has to take a break.Â Pondexter?Â Willie Green?Â Yikes.

PF: Jeff Green v David WestAdvantage: Hornets
Jeff Green is averaging 18 points and 7 rebounds a game, and is scoring at the most efficient rate of his career.Â Iâ€™m still here to tell you heâ€™s not helping the Thunder.Â Every year, he posts the worst +/- for his team.Â He does very little at an above average rate.Â David West typically punishes him in the post â€“ and Green responds by shooting lots from deep â€“ something heâ€™s not actually that good at.Â Usually, the Thunder put Nick Collison in pretty quickly against West â€“ which help them tremendously.

C: Nenad Krstic v Emeka OkaforAdvantage: Okafor

Bench
Nick Collison, DJ White, Eric Maynor, and James Harden
Jason Smith, Jarrett Jack, Willie Green, Marcus ThorntonAdvantage: Thunder
With Ibaka coming off the pine, this bench is great.Â Harden, who canâ€™t finish a shot at the rim, has re-discovered his shot from deep, Maynor is a low-mistake backup, and Nick Collison defends hard and does a good job on the boards.Â DJ White is serviceable in small minutes.

I’ll be on the ESPN Daily Dime Chat throughout the game, and will be at the arena before hand with some updates.

If you missed it, Topherprice wrote an open letter to Morris Bart, and Morris responded. Always nice to see potential investors who are really involved.

I agree! I love the way we are playing like we really want this one. Everyone’s on the attack and I love that intensity. Its fun to watch and it shows we have heart, which was missing in the last few games.

You nailed it, man. They are really intense. I hope it’s the beginning of a fierce bunker mentality as a reaction to the crazy news of the NBA taking over the team.

Mark

December 10, 2010 at 8:36 pm

As soon as I turn it on, CP passes it to a semi-open Ariza, who puts his head down and drives and turns it over. I appreciate a defensive stopper, but he NEEDS to realize he’s a low priority offensive option.

back to good ole new orleans saints football on sunday. love watchin them a lot more than da hornets and im a basketball person. startin to dislike da nba and its officiating and i also like the lakers so u know sumthing is wrong and they get just as many calls as okc. im nearly done with NBA. maybe ill watch another basketball league hmmmm….

Go Blue: Last season we couldn’t even get the leads to blow. It’s a process. It’s frustrating, but give it time. We are not going to win a title this year. We are not going to dominate. We are going to get better, just like we have already gotten better.

As an educator and academic, I hold this to be true: Learning comes from pain. Not knuckle-rapping pain, necessarily, but long hours, making mistakes, yada yada yada. Pain is what we and the team are feeling. We are improving though. We are better than average teams and worse than good teams. Why can’t this, and a 14-8 record, give comfort?

If we were 14-8, having gone 3 of 8 then 11-1 you would feel better right? If so, then what’s bothering you is not what’s happening, but rather, I suspect, the dear we can’t win more. Well, this week is going to be tough. We may go 1-3.

In either of the above cases, would going 1-3 this week feel any different? The answer is no for me.